A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an open-ended shipping carton for an article such as a toilet. It also relates to a carton blank for forming such cartons.
B. Description of the Art
The combination of weight and fragility of products such as toilets resulted in certain shipping problems. One problem was that because most prior art containers for such items were fully enclosed, weight was sometimes mistakenly equated with ruggedness, so that a heavy carton would on occasion not be handled with the required care. While warnings were usually provided on such cartons, they were often either not believed or simply ignored.
Another problem was that because of the fully enclosed nature of these containers, little discouragement could be given to careless handlers and assessing responsibility for breakage was difficult. In this regard, whether damage had occurred to a fully enclosed toilet was normally not apparent until the container was opened.
Yet another problem was that toilets and some other products are usually wider at the top than at the base, so that a carton must be sized to accommodate the wider top. Shipping spacers were therefore usually required to surround the base of the toilet and abut the side and end walls of the carton so that the side and end walls would restrain the toilet from sliding or tipping inside the carton. Moreover, the blanks for such cartons often required large sheets of packaging material and were quite expensive to make. It can therefore be seen that a need has existed for an improved packing carton and carton blank for items like toilets.